I wouldn’t call it dumb. Weird? Yes. Kind of crazy? OK. But it’s definitely not any dumber than when Silva fought James Irvin, and at least this time there’s a better reason for it. This time it’s not about counter-programming a competitor because you’re afraid to let the unstoppable combo of Fedor Emelianenko and Megadeth get any momentum. No, this is about saving an event that just got trashed by injuries, and giving the Brazilian fans a good reason not to tear down the HSBC Arena and throw it piece by piece into the sea. Isn’t that worth something?

OK, yeah. But who else would you get? Back when UFC 151 was in danger, Silva offered to fight a non-Jon Jones light heavyweight. And all you need to do is look at the trouble the UFC had in coming up with an actual light heavyweight for Jones himself to fight at UFC 152 to know they’re in short supply right now. You don’t necessarily want to match Silva up against a legitimate 205-pound contender, because then you risk knocking off a potential future opponent for Jones. All the top middleweights are either hurt, coming off surgery, or booked elsewhere, and as I pointed out in my column earlier, giving a title shot to an undeserving contender for the sake of convenience alone cheapens the whole notion of a championship.

So we get Bonnar, who’s tough and durable and perfectly willing to have his facial features shifted around for the sake of violent entertainment. He’s also the rare light heavyweight who is a) riding a winning streak, but b) completely absent from any title fight discussion in the division. In other words, he can take a punch and he has nothing better to do. Honestly, the UFC could have done a lot worse here.

Barry Williams @vamtnhunter
@benfowlkesMMA What the [fudge] is this [poop]?

Now see, that would be an appropriate response to the Jones-Belfort main event at UFC 152. There’s one where we should all be asking, what the fudge? Because that, my friend, is a title fight. It’s not like Silva-Bonnar, where the champ goes up in weight to test himself against a bigger (though probably not better) opponent just for crazy, bloody fun. Oh no, that’s a for real fight with for real stakes, even though it features a champion defending his belt against a smaller fighter who hasn’t even competed in that division for five years. I mean, what the fudge is that about? Also, if we really want to get fudging serious, we could point out that while Silva-Bonnar is helping to salvage UFC 153, Jones-Belfort was added to an already complete lineup at UFC 152. That event did not need saving. The light heavyweight title did not need to go up for grabs just ‘cause. If you want to get indignant about some matchmaking, save your outrage for that one.

Noah Hubbs @buffaloblue
@benfowlkesMMA Isn’t the reality of Bonnar vs Silva actually we get an additional Anderson Silva fight in his career? How can that be bad?

I guess that’s one way to look at it. But is that really the goal, to squeeze as many fights as possible out of him before he retires, quality of competition be damned? That’s like saying that the best thing about The Rolling Stones not dying of drug overdoses in the ‘70s like everyone expected was that we got “Voodoo Lounge” out of the deal. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I wish the Stones were dead. I just wish I wasn’t burdened with the knowledge that “Steel Wheels” exists. Quantity does not equal quality, is my point. I love watching Silva fight, but that doesn’t mean I want to see him fight absolutely anyone. If anything, I want him to be at home resting up for the big fights that actually matter. What if he breaks both his elbows on Bonnar’s titanium skull and is out for a year? What’s to become of our dream Silva-GSP superfight then?

Robert Schlicker @RSchlicker
@benfowlkesMMA Does Anderson have anything to gain in this fight? (Well, other then the enormously large paycheck I’m sure he’s getting…)

Let’s see, there’s the huge paycheck, the gratitude of the UFC, the love and respect of the Brazilian fans who love nothing more than watching one of their own beat up an American – did I mention the paycheck? I suppose it also adds to the existing allure of Silva the Great, a man who’s always willing to beat up a bigger man on short notice when the UFC needs a favor. I’d say that, all put together, that’s worth the rather moderate risk that Bonnar presents.

Leigh Cohen @Leighroyjenkins
@benfowlkesMMA who has a better chance in their Pride style squash match, Bonnar or Vitor? #tmb

First of all, I like your idea of viewing this all through the lens of the old PRIDE days. If both these fights were being held on New Year’s Eve in the Saitama Super Arena, we’d need no further matchmaking justification. Just the fact that neither fight includes a TV host or a guy in a mask or a morbidly obese guy in pants that don’t exactly fit would be sort of amazing.

As for who stands a better chance, that’s a tough one. Bonnar can take a beating, and he can grapple a little bit, but he doesn’t have a ton of offensive weapons with which to threaten a fighter like Silva. Belfort has speed and power, but his chin might not be so solid in his declining years. And, let’s face it, when his opponent is still conscious after the first few minutes, the “young dinosaur” tends to turn into a weary wooly mammoth by the later rounds.

You know what? I’m going to say Belfort has the better chance of shocking the world, if only because it would be just so perfectly insane for the UFC light heavyweight title to be held by an aging middleweight who seems to have only limited interest in the division in general. For Bonnar, maybe the better question is how he’d get out of Rio alive if he happened to somehow beat Silva on his home turf.

Ryan Denison @rdenison13
@benfowlkesMMA with the updated lineup for UFC153, which fight are you looking forward to most?

I’m looking forward to Silva-Bonnar the way you’d look forward to an Irish wake, and I admit that the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Dave Herman fight does have a certain appeal, but honestly, I’m still weirdly excited about Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch. I’m interested to see whether Silva can keep himself from getting Fitch’d for three rounds, and whether the days of Fitch being a suffocating roadblock to the top of the welterweight division might finally be nearing an end. Plus, I also want to see Phil Davis and Wagner Prado settle their unfinished business, if only so we can all move on.

Mark Horgan @sparkymarky_
@benfowlkesMMA Now that [Frankie] Edgar won’t fight at 153, does [Erik] Koch regain his title shot against [Jose] Aldo? If not, is that fair?

When it comes to title fight reshuffling, fair isn’t the only consideration that gets taken into account. Maybe it wasn’t fair for Edgar to drop down after two losses and get an immediate title shot to begin with, but the circumstances made it make sense, and we saw how quickly people got used to the idea. To restore Koch as the number one contender now almost feels like a regression. Is that fair? Maybe not. But neither was it terribly fair for Edgar to get pressured into dropping weight to begin with. Still doesn’t mean it was a bad idea.

Alex Bruyere @auggie85
@benfowlkesMMA twitter mail bag. Should the UFC make changes with the fighter insurance? As there have been way more injuries since it intro

Several of you asked some version of this question, but near as I could tell, Alex got there first, so here goes. Short answer: No, the fighter insurance is not responsible for the injuries. Long answer: Even if it were – even if somehow the fighters were less likely to fight hurt now that they can have a necessary surgery without being plunged into debt – would we really want to take that away just to make them fight more?

The thing about the fighter insurance is that it’s not some golden ticket. It’s not like you get paid your show and win money for sitting on the couch with an ice pack on your knee. It’s not as if these guys are going in for elective surgery. From what fighters and coaches and managers tell me, it’s not even that great a deal as far as health insurance goes. What it does do is make sure that a guy with a torn ACL doesn’t have to think about whether he should get in the cage anyway, put on a crappy, one-legged performance, then claim that he injured his knee in the fight rather than in training all so the UFC has to pay for his surgery. I fail to see how that could possibly be a bad thing for fighters or fans.

Those of you who are regular listeners of the Co-Main Event Podcast (CME, if you nasty) have probably heard my co-host Chad Dundas lay out his cardinal rule for post-fight injury excuses: “If you’re hurt, don’t fight; if you fight, don’t bitch.” In other words, by stepping into the cage the fighter makes a deal with the fans. He’s saying he’s healthy enough to compete and ready to accept whatever consequences might arise out of that decision. Because of that, don’t we want him to be making the decision for some reason other than a lack of better options? Don’t we want him to be fighting because he really thinks he can win, and not because he doesn’t have the money to see a doctor on his own?

Free (or even moderately discounted) health care is not like free ice cream. Very few people – especially professional athletes – are going to use it just because it’s there. Nobody likes going to the doctor. Nobody likes having surgery. You do it only because you have to, or because the alternative is so much worse. Trust me, there’s not a fighter out there who wouldn’t rather fight and get paid than sit at home with an injury. But when they are injured – and they will get injured, because this is a rough way to make a living – don’t we want them to get the care they need to compete at their best, not only because we love this sport, but also because we care about them as people?

ATX Steve M @atxsteve17
@benfowlkesMMA should Aldo have this title strips for riding a motorcycle and taking unnecessary risk?

According to the managers I’ve talked to, since UFC fighters are technically independent contractors, there are no stipulations in the contracts that prohibit them from engaging in dangerous activities. Even if there were, enforcing such a clause on an independent contractor could be legally tricky. Does that mean I think it was a good idea for Aldo to go zipping around on his motorcycle when he had a title fight coming up? Nope. I know MMA fighter and motorcycle enthusiast Tim Kennedy is probably going to yell at me for taking this position, but I think anybody who makes a living with his body would be wise to take care what risks he exposes it to. Some risks – training and sparring and crossing the street, to name a few – are unavoidable. Other risks – riding a motorcycle through the streets of Rio, where turn signals are optional and the lines on the pavement are a mere suggestion – are not.

That said, I don’t think the UFC should strip him of a title for that any more than it should strip Georges St-Pierre of his title for injuring his knee while trying to stick the landing after his gymnastics routine (or whatever he was doing at the time). If you’re going to strip an injured champion, it should be because of how long he’s going to be out and not why he’s out. Certainly, I can see why the UFC would frown upon Aldo’s motorcycle riding and Donald Cerrone’s bull riding, but if we’re talking about putting language into the contracts about such activities, what we’re really talking about it consequences.

Because let’s be real, the guys who are going to risk their entire careers by riding motorcycles and jumping jet skis and swimming with sharks? They are not going to be deterred by threats from the UFC. They’re going to do what they want no matter what their employer thinks. All you’re asking yourself is whether you’re willing to be the employer who goes to a champion who just broke his leg in a Yamaha mishap and demand that he suffer a little more, financially or otherwise, strictly for punitive reasons. Seems a little heartless to me, even if, personally, I’d sooner take the bus than put my entire career in the hands of my fellow drivers.

Josh C @_allmyfriends
@benfowlkesMMA given the Lesnar discussion; if Sonnen retired tomorrow, does he get into UFC hall of fame?

Sure, why not. Like Lesnar, he brought a lot of attention to the sport, right? He also fought some great fighters, even if he didn’t always win. But hey, the crew-cut mafia of hardcore Lesnar fans would have me believe that he’s a hall of famer for being, well, famous, so screw it. Let’s fling the doors open and take everyone. James Toney? Come on down. Kimbo Slice? Here’s your cut-glass trophy. Tank Abbott? Without you, the UFC might never have snagged that Harley-Davidson sponsorship.

Okay, I’m kind of being jerk here, but you see my point. I don’t want to plug the CME in every single answer, but as we discussed on this week’s episode: a) the UFC Hall of Fame is just a corporate deal and not a real, independent hall of fame for the sport as a whole, and b) a lot depends on what kind of hall of fame you want to have. If you want to induct anyone who was awesome and memorable and entertaining, then sure, Lesnar gets in. So does Igor Vovchanchyn and Yuki Kondo and Kevin Randleman and a whole bunch of other guys. If you want it to be only the all-time greats and true legends of the sport, then no, a guy who went 5-3 in a four-year career probably doesn’t belong. Neither does a guy whose claim to fame, aside from his interviews, is how close he came to beating one of those greats.

You don’t need to know four months out, but the fighters do. And once they know, they (or someone they know) will inevitably tell a reporter, and then the word is out. The organization also has promotional work to do, interviews to set up, plus a bunch of other stuff the rest of us never think about. Finalizing the fight card the week of the event might work in Japan, but on this side of the Pacific it makes for a tough sell.

Jared @Orderx7
@benfowlkesMMA Will the matchmaking as of late have an impact on the credibility/professionalism of the @UFC? #tmb

Here we go with this again. While I do wonder what someone who doesn’t follow this sport so closely would think if we tried to explain to them why one champ is fighting a smaller opponent while another is fighting a bigger one, I don’t know if it actively harms the credibility of the organization as a whole. I do think the UFC should slow down sometimes and realize that it’s not always a good idea to book a fight just because you can, but unless these fights become the rule rather than the exception, I wouldn’t freak out about it just yet.

Kyle Kelly-Yahner @KyleKellyYahner
@benfowlkesMMA If a young dinosaur and an old lion were to fight to the death, who would win? Follow up: what if one of them were on TRT?

I go with the young dinosaur every time. I imagine a T-Rex scooting around on a skateboard with his hat on backwards, blissfully unaware that the past few million years offer no guarantees about the epochs to come. That kind of ignorance can be a powerful thing. Meanwhile, the old lion has seen enough to be cynical, and the TRT that might be boosting his sex life isn’t going to help him much when the next ice age rolls around.

Big Nate @BigNate870
@benfowlkesMMA u know my #tmb ?? RACE IN MMA..What can we do to keep it from being like NASCAR???

Nate, you seem like a nice guy, but I still have no idea what you’re asking me here.

Jason Rule @JasonRule
@benfowlkesMMA Schaub has drawn Johnson for his next fight. Do you think Schaub can avoid the brawl and win this one? If not what then?

I think Schaub requested Lavar Johnson because he’s smart enough to look for someone he can take down and submit. He knows he doesn’t have the chin to play Rock-em, Sock-em Robots with heavy-hitting heavyweights, or at least he ought to. I think he shoots for a double-leg before the first minute is up, and I think he gets it. After that, it’s likely all over but the tapping.

Ryan Goldie @RyanGoldie17
@benfowlkesMMA In regard to the UFC’s recent inundation of injuries: is this a sign that the frequency of events should be brought down?

The lack of available replacement opponents might be a consequence of the grueling schedule, but I’m not sure the injuries are. Just look at the people who are getting hurt lately. Dan Henderson had been on the shelf for almost a year when his knee blew out. “Rampage” Jackson hasn’t fought since February. Vladimir Matyushenko’s been out since last December. Aldo got hit by a car, for crying out loud. You can say that the UFC has too many events to book to have enough spare parts lying around in the event of injury, but I don’t know that you can tie the injury rate itself to the number of events. As for the stress that this schedule exerts on Zuffa’s other employees – the ones who secretly long for a heart attack because at least it might get them the afternoon off – that’s a different story.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie.com and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Follow him on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA. Twitter Mailbag appears every Thursday on MMAjunkie.com.